SchwalbeMarathon Plus 700c Tire (HS 440)(Return to Product Page)

PROS Like a tank. Strong, durable, the answer to frequent flats from road debris. They'll last until cockroaches take over the earth.

CONS Heavy, hard to mount on some wheels (e.g. Bontrager Race Lite), a little stiff. Probably not worth it if you aren't having problems with frequent flats on your current tires.

REVIEW My 25-mile commute takes me on a road that has a lot of construction trucks, which means nails and junk litters the lane. After getting fortnightly flats on other tires rated as highly durable (Continental Gatorskin), Schwalbe Marathon Plus is like manna from the gods. Granted, you'll wrestle half an hour trying to put them on, but the glorious thing is that you rarely need to take them on & off.

They are markedly stiff, so you don't have as much swerving play, and you need to pay a little more attention to grooves in the road. Oh, and they're of course heavier and wider than most road tires out there (their 25c is, uh, unlike any other 25c I've seen).

Totally worth it, in my opinion. Over 2 years (75 milesweek), I've had one flat, which happened from an embedded sheet metal screw. I think the tires' stiffness works in their favor in generally deflecting pointy objects otherwise. Love these puppies.

I now have them on my Rivendell Redwood road bike, My Giant Cypress Deluxe Hybrid Bicycle, & my Cannondale 27 inch touring bicycle. On the 23 inch Cypress Deluxe bike, I use the Schwalbe schraeder nickel plated stem. Bullet proof.

On my road bike the largest tire I can use is the 7,00-25 to clear my brakes when removing the rim & tire. I put the 7.00-28's on my Cannondale and and the Rivendell Atlantis & Giant, I put on the 7.00-40 tires. They are a bit heaver than Conti's but I never have any flats. I think the sidewalls are also heaver. Pump up your tires and check them once a month as they

say. I like the reflective stripe on the tires. I think all the tires should have them.

We have hills here and the coast line for scenery

I've had three punctures in 4000 miles riding around Los Angeles on these Schwalbes. The first flat shouldn't even count - it was a snakebite puncture of the rear tire when the wheel sank into a sewer grate at 10mph. The next was a tack that got through the sidewall of the front tire. The third happened last week. My rear tire was old, bald and nearing replacement (kinda like what my wife might say about me) when I ran over a 3 nail that penetrated the bottom and side of the Schwalbe. So it took 4000 miles for anything to get through that blue protective layer inside the tire. Amazing. I have spent so little time fixing flats over the past year that I almost forgot how miserable it used to be.

My secret to mounting the Marathon is hold the wheel horizontally, the far side against a workbench or wall and the near side up against the fronts of my thighs. I then get both beads inserted in a 6 length (lots of squeezing with the fingers) on the opposite edge and use my legs to keep the beads seated by pressing the wheel against the wallbench with my legs. Once you get a small area seated, it's fairly easy to chase the insertion around the rest of the wheel toward you. The thing you really have to be extra careful about is making sure the tube isn't caught between the tire and rim before inflation.

After three hundred miles of riding since I last wrote, I have found these tires to be of excellent quality and durability. I have had no problems with these tires and they roll very well. They are slightly heavier and start a little slower but, these tires instill confidence on the road through their handling, grip, and load capacity. I ride a lot, with a heavy load most of the time, and these tires absorb the bumps well and I have had no pinch flats. The stiff rubber compound was noticeable when installing and I think this is what has contributed to the confidence in the tire under load. I travel at an average of 20mph and the handling at these speeds is quite good and cornering at these speeds is effortless. One note worth mentioning is that in loose gravel handling gets a bit precarious with a wider tire (700x32), but I think you would have this with any tire. This is an excellent tire at any price.

I almost didn't buy these tires because of the repeated comments on how hard they are to mount. This was not the case, they actually mounted easier than my Kenda's.

I think that mounting a tire has a science involved that we don't take into concederation when mounting. Each tire is designed to fit a particular rim - likely a mold designed for that rim - with tolerances that accomidate mounting. However, when we go to mount the tire we get anxious to get back in the saddle and forget the basics. When mounting the tire the process should be get one bead started around the rim, then the tube should be lightly inflated - only enough for it to hold its shape - and insert the valve in the rim perpendicular to the rim, carefully insert the tube into the tire cavity, then starting on the valve side, work the tire's second bead over the rim until you get to the other side. What I think happens is, many forget to work the tire beads into the inner groove of the rim as you go around, which gives you more room at the other end - where it gets tight. This is likely the cause of the problems mentioned above -- failing to work the tire beads deep into the rim as you go around -- I've done it too in my excitement to get rolling.

Verdict still out on the tire's performance - more to follow.

Bought 1 last year for my recumbent, 5000kms later and no flats. Bought 4 more, just last month for our regular touring bikes, not too hard to put on, but try to avoid installation in cold weather. Price was awesome, on the 4 with a discount, I saved about $100.That included shipping to Canada.

With all the sorts of weather we get here, reliable tires have to be the single most crucial piece of kit. I have had a Marathon Plus as my front tire over the past winter and can fully attest that they are unbeatable for 25mm clinchers when it comes to to wet weather riding. Ice, snow, downpours, slick roads, flooded streets this tire has been unflappable. I cannot say for certain, but, the tread pattern does seem to hold the road really well in adverse conditions this was something I was concerned about when comparing with the smoother tread on Specialized Armadilos. I use the bike for my daily commute the extra weight, higher rolling resistance and lower comfort have not been an issue. I did feel the extra drag initially when I swapped out summer racing tires but the improved conditioning from using this tire has been well worth it. I have had the Panaracer T-serv on my rear wheel for a year longer, that's still going strong but is not in the same class as Marathon plus for wet weather grip. An all around performer and a well-made product.

I have used Continental Gatorskins and Armadillos in the past. They did provide some puncture protection but I still would have a flat every month or so on my commute to work. So far so good on 400km. The tires were not to difficult to put on the bike and the level of puncture protection built in the tire is quite noticeable upon inspection.

I purchased these for my Trek 04 2300 road bike specifically for the winter season. Yeah they added weight compared to slicks but the traction was fantastic in heavy or even light snow. Ice conditions not so much but what do you expect? It's ICE. Anyway commuted five days a week 3miles to and 3miles back from work. The ride back was at night 7pm so visibility was limited but I just hauled ass right through the stuff. Sometimes 3-4 inches of snow. white knuckle sometimes but that's the fun of it. Only crashed 2times this year all on sheets of ice that froze as the temp dropped at night. Otherwise NO flats. No issues installing. Tight yes, but no need to bitch and moan about it.

I have a set of these tires on my commuting bike, my touring bike, my dad's hybrid, and even a set of the narrow 25s on my road bike. I went cross-country on a set of these and still use that set on my commuter bike for at least 8,000 miles of flat free bliss. I talked 6 of my friends into buying these for their commuter bikes and we've had ZERO flats out of thousands and thousands of miles. One of my friends was in the Netherlands this past summer and saw a guy get a flat with some other tire. Some Dutch guy went up to fellow with a flat and told him he needed to buy some Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires-- the exact tires I had convinced my friend to buy over here.

I slapped the 25s on my road bike and put up a great time in a triathlon last summer-- yeah, they weigh a little bit but I don't care that much about a few grams. I haven't brought a tube or pump on a road ride in months-- that should make up for the few grams in extra tire weight.

They are definitely hard to get on the rim the first time, but in my experience that is the last time you need to put them on.

Great traction, great safety with the reflective sidewalls, the absolute best flat protection, and outstanding durability this tire is the best tire made. Buy 6, get the quantity discount, and put them on all your bikes. BikeTiresDirect has the best prices around.

bought these for my Trek 2300 road bike great for winter riding. No problem with clearence. Dificulty getting on the first time but just takes technique and practice.

I am using these on my 6-mile commute to work, which involves crossing through a dark railroad underpass, which is frequently littered with broken glass. It's so dark in there that it is very hard to avoid the glass. With my previous tires I was having about 1 flat a week and sometimes more. I switched to these about a month ago, and not one flat so far! Very happy.

BTD shipped the tires promptly, good service.

WANT BETER SPEED 15MPH MOREDO AS I SAY BUY 25S THEN BUY BLIZZARD 23SIT WILL IMPRESS AND BOGGLE YOUR MIND... BLIZZARDS HAVE GOOD FLAT PORTECTION...

I,USE THE GREAT TIRE FOR ALL ROADS, DRIT,TOURIND,AND CITY.I LIKE EVERYTHANG ABOUT THE TIRE BUT ,YOU MUST BRAKE IT IN ABOUT 31.25 K,THEN SHE ROOLS LIKE WILD FIRE ESPECIALLY IN WARM WEATHER,DOWNGRADE 50 MILEH,UPHILL 16 MILEH... HAVE A STORY TOO TELL,I WAS GOING DOWNHILL ON THE INERSTATE THEN I HERE GLUMP CLUMP AND SO AND SO ON,I PULL OVER TO THE GRAVAL AND STOP AND LOOK AT MY FORNT TIRE ITS OK ,THEN YOU KNOW I LOOK AT THE BACK TIRE TO MY DISMAY OR SHOCK THEIRS A TWO INCH STAPLE LOUNGE IN MY SCHWALBE TIRE ITS HOT TOO NINTY, SO THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS THE SCHWALBE TIRE STOP THE STAPLE FROM GIVING MY TIRE A FLAT!!! SO BUY THEM THEIR FOR LIFE...

I heard lots of good things about this tire, so bought a set a few years ago. The initial cost is higher, but the savings in tubes andor time repairing flats is well worth it. Have had one flat in 30,000 km of commuting... and that was when the tire was close to needing replacement.

Burned through a set in about 3500 miles of year round riding. I like the versatility of the tire and road mainly on pavement with occasional side trips onto the gravel. Provided a decent amount of traction although I don't know if it was worth the sacrifice in rolling resistance. They were also a fair amount heavier than the Hardcase tires they replaced.

I did get a large number of flats, although probably less than other tires. Seemed like, once I got a small hole in the tire, small pieces of grit would work their way into the same small hole. They seemed kind of expensive for such a heavy tire.

In conclusion, I'll probably try a different tire for the next time. Maybe Specialized Armadillo.

These tires are absolutely puncture resistant. I have ridden them for six months 50 miles per week with no flats. Virtually bombproof. That's the good news.

The bad news is that to me, they feel VERY slow. When I first put them on my bike I felt like I was pushing through molasses. I've gotten used to them, and as a NW commuter I will take the sluggishness due to the great durability of these tires. For a basic commuter tire they seem a little pricey, but time is money, so not having to change flats is worth something.

I found these tires by luck and there great. Only problem is that I don't know what size tube fits in a 700c x 28 tire. Cant someone help me with this?

Initially I was skeptical of the reviews, can any tire be that good? Then, after a flat in the rain on a busy road at dusk, I told myself "I am not doing this again". So I ordered the Marathon Plus, it is easier to mount with a spring clamp to hold tire in rim, but not that bad for what you gain. Now after an accumulation of 6000 miles on three different bikes with them on I have had no flats. I love the confidence of riding on rough roads with blackberrys or star thistle thorns around and not worrying about a puncture. I put them on our tandem trike and we ride a gravel road surrounded by berry bushes with no flats. They roll well, have good traction, I am very pleased with these tires.

These are great tires and very durable. I ride about 5k mikes per year, with a pretty heavy commuter load, and the marathon plus last about 6 months on the rear wheel. I have not had a single flat with this tire event though I ride in pretty gritty conditions ... in rain, after snow melt. Tires are sturdy and grip the road well.

The first time putting them on, the tires are stiff because the rubber is so heavy. I use 700x25s, which actually size out closer to a normal 700 x 28. I use a pair of heavy spring clamps to squeeze the tire down as I work it onto the rim.

I would not ride anything else ... you won't either once you have tried them.